Goal and Route

1. Goal and Route This presentation focuses on NICKEL production at Siberian Far East (High Arctic Region of Russia). It is designed to DESCRIBE. It takes you through the cradle to grave lifecycle of NICKEL, paying particular attention to the social, environmental and public health impacts of the processes associated with NICKEL. I start by looking at (analyzing) the impact of EXTRACTION upon the well-being of the local ecosphere and local indigenous and urban populace (while paying particular attention to the disproportionate rate of impact as associated with factors of race and standard of living). I then proceed to describe and analyze the impact of PRODUCTION upon environment, indigenous and urban populace. I continue with the description of the urban and indigenous communities in detail and analyze the disproportionate distribution of health hazards, as associated with nickel industry. This is followed by the analytical description of DISTRIBUTION/TRANSPORTATION of nickel, from its point of extraction to the point of overseas markets. I go on to describe the overseas CONSUMPTION of nickel and analyze the confirmative effect of such a practice as affecting people and environment at the source of nickel production. I conclude with the analysis of waste generation and handling as impacting, now, the environment at the point of consumption.

2. 05/03 Introduction The critical-analytical core of this project is founded upon recognition of the impact upon biotic and human communities stressed, impaired and threatened to benefit industrial production of nickel. The project turns to account for a critical use of resources with: Industrial disregard to indigenous right to dwell on ancestral land and to carry on an intimate Earth-connected way of living. Indigenous communities� way of outlook of �Earth is sacred�. The disproportionate succumbing to health hazards by indigenous communities. The dependency of urban workers upon the nickel production for the very livelihood and the consequent socio-economic entrapment. The particular vulnerability of Arctic environment as it�s being impacted by transportation of nickel to overseas markets. Factors that contribute to hefty Western consumption of nickel.

3. 05/03 www.mining-technology.com Geography and Production Data Norilsk Nickel stands in the Russian High Arctic, about 2,800 km north of Moscow. The Norilsk nickel deposits were discovered during the 1920s, with nickel production starting during WWII. Underground mining began in the 1950s. The operating company was privatized by the Russian government in 1995, and is now controlled by the Unexim Bank. The company also controls the Severonikel and Pechenganikel mines on the Kola and Taimir Peninsulas.

4. 05/03 www.arcticphoto.co.uk Visual Overlay The nickel production at Far East, High Arctic region of Russian Federation, headed by Norilsk Nickel is marked by conglomerate expansion with oligarchic pattern of power. Due to the vulnerability of Arctic environment, the biodome is least adapted to act as a sink for the deluge of contaminants, which affect flora, fauna, indigenous peoples� well-being as well as that of urban dwellers whose livelihood is centered upon nickel production, being �company�s town.�

5. 05/03 workers in a lift @ the end of their shift-October Mine, Operations and Production In 2002, Norilsk Nickel produced 218,000 tones of nickel. Export sales amounted to 208, 000 tones (minus 60,000 pledged against a loan from the syndicate of Western banks). Domestic sales accounted for 11,000 tones. Primary Operations: Western Siberia (city of Norilsk and city of Murmansk), Taimir and Kola Peninsulas. Murmansk: Komsomolskiy and Taimirskiy mines account for 40% of nickel production. Norilsk: October Mine produces 55% of company�s nickel output.

6. www.goodhumans.com, www.raipon.org Importance of Nickel/Localized Impact-Faraway Sterile Consumption Average U.S import from Norilsk Nickel is 21, 700 tones/yr, priced at $3.14/lb. The only nickel smelter in U.S. closed in April 1998 because of low nickel prices. Meanwhile, U.S. demand for nickel-cadmium and nickel-metal hydride batteries has grown significantly, thanks to a joint U.S/Canadian recycling program that has made the use of nickel-based household and industrial batteries more environmentally acceptable. Both battery types are widely used in handheld power tools and in a myriad of portable electronic devices. In areas closest to Norilsk nickel smelters, the deposition of nickel, in combination with acidifying emissions, has severely damaged soil and ground vegetation, resulting in desertification. The freshwater ecosystem is severely damaged in Dudinka Harbour, Yenisey River and others. The land contamination disproportionately affects Tribal Peoples of the Far East, both physiologically and psychologically, due to succumbing to higher rates of disease, and to losing a traditional way of living (reindeer herding/fishing) through land degradation and in many cases, through being ousted off the land.

7. Importance of Nickel II At the end of 1999, the following 7 models equipped with nickel-metal hydride (�Electric hybrids�) (Ni-Mh) batteries were being sold/leased in the U.S.: E.V. Plus (American Honda Motor Co.), the Electric Powered Interurban Commuter, E.P.I.C. minivan (Daimler/Chrysler), the Ranger EV Pickup Truck (Ford Motor Co), the E.V.I .(General Motors Corp.), the S-10 Electric Pickup Truck (General Motors), the Force (Solectria Corp.) and the R.A.V.4-E.V. sports utility vehicle (Toyota Motor Corp., U.S.A.) and Altra E.V. (Nissan North America). A total of 4,017 battery electric light-duty passenger vehicles and trucks were sold January 1996-97. The nickel-copper smelters on Kola Peninsula and Norilsk region have severely polluted nearby terrestrial and freshwater environments. The high growth rate of morbidity among children of Norilsk has been observed.

8. 05/03 Extraction Process Norilsk Nickel uses sublevel caving method: an excavation in the form of steps, made by the mining of ore from steeply inclined or vertical veins (�stoping�) Stopes are mined 120 m long by 10 m thick with the use of mechanized drilling and ore loading equipment In Taimir, October and Komsomolskiy mines the cut-and-fill method is utilized: the ore is excavated in horizontal slices, starting at the bottom of the slope and advancing upward. Extraction process requires several toxic chemicals and metals, including sodium cyanide and mercury which have contaminated sensitive Arctic Rivers, like Igarka, Teksi and others. Lack of updated pollution prevention mechanisms ensures plant�s workers exposure to high levels of sulfur emissions. At present, there are 30 indigenous tribes living in an area surrounding Norilsk combine, from Aleut to Tazy tribe. Traditional lifestyle of these peoples is threatened by industrial interest, where indigenous rights are often ignored. President of R.F. Government on Problems of the Extreme North, Mikhail Kasyanov, has noted that when it comes to guaranteeing legal rights of indigenous peoples of the North, regional legislation often is given preference over distanced federal one (regional power is dictated by who owns most in the area, in this case, the Norilsk Combine). Result: polluted water=less available fish to catch for traditional fishers, polluted air=more disease among Natives whose systems are more sensitive than those of urban dwellers, desertified land=inability to carry on with age-old practices, blow to traditional lifestyle, psychological trauma.

9. Diagram of Extraction Process On the left: in the cut-and-fill mining, the ore is excavated in horizontal slices, starting at the bottom of a stope and advancing upward. On the right: The ore is removed from the stope with the use of mechanized mobile equipment. When a slice of ore has been mined, then hydraulically-placed sandfill is poured into the mined-out area, which, then, serves both as a floor for when the next slice is mined, and as a support for walls. Atlas Copco, a U.S.-based company, has been working closely with Norilsk Nickel for over 30 years. In 2000, Atlas Copco won a major order to supply Norilsk Nickel, valued at $18 million. By early 2001, the company has sold to Norilsk Nickel almost 400 units, including drilling jumbos, load-haul-dump machines and raise borers. Atlas Copco is continually increasing its delivery of drills and rigs to Norilsk Nickel, thereby propagating a use value of nickel and proposing a friendly Western market ready to receive more nickel at the expense of local Russians, Indigenous Tribes and the biodome.

10. 05/03 www.nmsu.edu Spatial Indigenous Distribution

11. 05/03 www.land.sfo.ru Impact on Indigenous Tribes �The spring blossomed over Taiga And scarcely waving its hands, It has so beatified the Earth, As all of a sudden spread out like a carpet. All trees put on a magnificent attire, That is most wonderful in spring, The birds of passage are flying, And bring their songs on their wings. A young reindeer stands motionless, And after finishing drinking, is playful again. In spring, there brightened up, like children-All trees, people and birds. -Evenk poet Nikolai Oyegir

12. 05/03 Impact on Indigenous Peoples II According to the map, Evenks and Evens live nearby Norilsk Nickel Combine At present, there are 30 ethnic groups peoples that inhabit Russia in the North, Siberia and the Far East, totaling about 200,000. This population is spread across vast expenses of land mostly void of transportation and communication structures. The amount of pension allocated to indigenous peoples is about 1/25 of that of the average Russian. The morbidity rate of indigenous peoples of the North is 1.5 higher than of the average Russian. The average indigenous life expectancy is 25 years shorter than in Russia on the average The ancestors of tribal peoples settled the land before the movement of Slavs, so the names they gave to many places in Slavic Russia, still endure. Evenks (Tungus) number 30,136 and live in compact communities in the Republic of Sakha(Yakutia), Buryatia, Khanty-Mansi, Taimir and other regions. Evens (Tungus Lamuts) number 17, 199 and live in the Republci of Sakha, the Magadan, Kamchatka, Khabarovsk region, the Chukotka and Koryasky autonomous regions. According to the Russian Association of the Indigenous Peoples of the North (R.A.I.P.O.N.), government representatives are trying to continue policies of paternalism toward and control over indigenous peoples.

13. 05/03 The pathway of contamination of Indigenous Peoples In winter, industrial areas of Eurasia, including the location of Norilsk Nickel, are within the Arctic air mass, which provides for efficient air transport of particle-bound contaminants (nickel emissions have been implicated in a number of cancers) across the pole. Semi-volatile contaminants (persistent organic pollutants, mercury-which is used in the drilling process of production of nickel) are carried to the Arctic by the cycles of evaporation, transport, and condensation in a multi-hop process. The cold climate traps them more effectively here than anywhere else on the globe. Snow, rain and dry deposition cleanse the air and contaminate the surfaces on which they land (land contamination leads to large numbers of reindeers getting sick through grazing. Thus, traditional way of herding is disrupted). The contaminants often end up in melt-water that feeds both rivers and the ocean surface layer (water contamination of nearby rivers has lead to an increased disease rate among indigenous peoples who live far away from accessible infrastructure of hospitals and are more sensitive to diseases.). The ability to gather and store energy is a prime concern for survival during the dark cold winter. Therefore, fat plays a more important role in animal metabolism in the Arctic than in temperate regions. The importance of fat increases bio-magnification of fat-soluble contaminants (metal nickel ions are quickly accumulated in kidneys of animals.

14. Pathway to Contamination II The lives of indigenous peoples are closely linked to local resources that provide nourishing foods and spiritual connection to the environment. The diets of Indigenes are likely to include predators which may concentrate contaminants (bioaccumulation). The concept of �health� is holistic among Indigenes. Health is socially and culturally defined. It has spiritual dimensions. Far East Natives have a strong traditional value of respect for the environment. They see degradation of the environment as a threat to health. Summary: the most severe effects of metals on Arctic ecosystems are from local pollution. The nickel-copper smelters on the Kola Peninsula and in the Norilsk region of Russia have severely polluted nearby terrestrial and freshwater environments. In the areas closest to the smelters, the deposition of nickel and copper has, in combination with acidifying emissions, severely damaged soil and ground vegetation. Metals are taken by Arctic biota and levels often reflect local geology or local anthropocentric activities. Mercury seems to be on the increase in both lake and ocean sediments. This may indicate an increased global flux of mercury. Mercury biomagnifies in freshwater and marine ecosystems. Climate change is likely to be more pronounced in the Arctic than in other areas of the world. Indigenous peoples are directly dependent on climate for access to game animals, fishing and hunting grounds and suitable places for settlement.

15. 05/03 Atlas load-haul-dump unit used for ore haulage at one of Norilsk mines More on the Production of Norilsk Nickel Ores extracted from Norilsk Nickel deposits can be divided into rich, disseminated and cuprous ores. Rich ores are characterized by a higher content of base and precious metals, while cuprous ores are characterized by a higher content of copper. Ore Enrichment: Talnakh Enrichment Plant processes some of the rich and cuprous ores mined at the Oktyabrskiy deposit to produce nickel, copper and pyrrhotite concentrates. The Norilsk Enrichment Plant processes the entire volume of disseminated ore from Norilsk, a portion of rich and cuprous ores from Oktyabrskiy deposit and stored pyrrhotite concentrate to produce nickel and copper concentrates. At Pechenganikel Enrichment Plant, disseminated ore from Kola Peninsula is processed to produce a collective nickel and copper concentrate.

16. Metallurgy Nadezhda Metallurgical Plant processes nickel and pyrrhotite concentrates as well as copper concentrates to produce high grade matte and copper anodes. Nickel Plant processed stored pyrrhotite and matte concentrates to produce copper cathodes. The Copper Plant processes copper concentrates and anodes to produce copper cathodes. The precious metal concentrates production shop recycles sludge from the electrolysis shop of the Copper and Nickel plant to produce metal and metallic silver concentrates. The key products of the Combine are nickel and copper cathodes, precious metals concentrates and sulfuric acid.

17. 05/03 Workers� Exposure to Nickel In 1995, Norilsk Combine employed 162,000 people, with 17,000 of them working for Severonikel plant located in the city of Murmansk. Nickel is the leading cause of allergic contact dermatitis through occupational exposure of workers (metalworking, electroplating, etc.) Kea feature involved in the development of nickel allergy includes prolonged contact with nickel-containing objects. Nickel causes asthmatic response in workers: immune reaction of chronic bronchospasmatism. Nickel salts can lead to toxic effects in the liver. Workers� exposure to nickel leads to immuno-toxicity: inability of body to feign off disease. Inhalation of nickel dust and aerosols leads to pulmonary toxicity, with the resultant carcinogenic effect.

18. 05/03 www.rfsl.se Norilsk and Murmansk: Impact on Urban Dwellers The 3 smelters of the Norilsk Nickel Combine are the biggest source of sulphur emissions in the world. In 1992, the total sulphur dioxide emissions were 2,300,00 tones-x 20 those of Sweden. As a result of this enormous pollution more than 4,000 square km of larch forest around Norilsk has died over the last 20 years. In addition, the poisonous air in Norilsk causes severe health problems, including greatly reduced life expectancy for the population.

19. Norilsk and Murmansk II Typical of Russian large manufacturing companies, the financial situation at the production facility has a direct impact on the general social status of the area since service sector, such as schools, hospitals, agricultural farms and others, is owned and directly funded by the factory. In the case of the town of Monchegorsk, home to Severonikel workers, 90% of the population fully depends on enterprise�s operations. �We are prisoners without barbed wire�-said one miner to the visiting Western journalist: �To leave from here, I need money, which I don�t have.� Thus, in essence, the populace are both economic and environmental captives. Heavy air pollution in Norilsk is evidenced by high sulfur content of the manufactured nickel, from the year 1974. Finnish Landsat�s (earth resource satellite) study has shown there to be a total environmental degradation covering 750 square km in the Norwegian-Russian border caused by air pollution. As a consequence, the biodiversity has decreased dramatically close to Norilsk. As Norilsk and Murmansk are located within the biodome of Arctic Circle, which is particularly ill-adapted to absorb pollution, the cities are among the top 11 with the highest rates of disease among children of 14 due to air pollution. Murmansk Region contains more than 6,000 registered artificial sources of air, water and soil pollution. In the last 5 years, since 2001, in Murmansk region, high growth of children morbidity and incidence of birth defects was registered. The highest growth of morbidity rates was observed in the last 6 years for the following classes of diseases: bone and muscle; stomach and duodenum ulcers; tumours; diabetes; gastro-intestinal diseases; birth defects; blood diseases and uro-genital diseases. According to the data of Institute on General and Communal Hygiene, collected in Monchegorsk, nickel adversely affects functions of the gastrointestinal tract and morphologic blood properties. There�s some evidence of copper and nickel accumulation in hair of pre-school kids of Monchegorsk. Children are not engaged in production processes, they are under impact of contaminated environmental media.

20. 05/03 www.arktik.com Transportation of Nickel Transport Road: export deliveries of base metals to end users and high-grade matte deliveries for further processing are made using the North Sea trading route via the Dudinka Sea Port. During the period of 9 months, the supply is transported via nuclear-powered ships, whereas for the period of 3 months it is transported via diesel ships. The nuclear ice-breakers of the Arktika (arctic) design are used to force through the ice for the benefit of cargo ships and other vessels along the northern seaway. The Northern seaway comprises the Eastern part of the Barents Sea, the Petchora Sea, the Kara Sea, the Laptev Sea, and the Eastern Siberia Sea and heads out to the Bering Straight.

21. 05/03 Transportation II The nuclear-powered icebreakers Vaigach and Taimir have been built for shallow waters and are usually used on the river Jenitsej to Dixon where they break through the ice followed by cargo ships with ore and metals from Norilsk Combine and cargo ships with lumber from Igarka River. Until 1986, all low and medium level radioactive liquid and solid waste from the nuclear icebreakers was dumped in the Barents and Kara Sea. This comprises solid and liquid radioactive waste and nuclear reactors with and without fuel. Less radioactive liquid waste was being dumped by the shores of Kola Peninsula. The Northern Fleet has sunk a total of 17 ships and lighters containing radioactive waste in Barents and Kara Sea. Major items that have been dumped are cooling water pumps from reactors, generators and various reactor parts. The precious metal concentrate-a fine gray powder containing platinum, silver and other valuable metals-is airlifted to Krasnoyarsk refinery and then sold to the Russian government. The TransSiberian Corridor allows for the transportation of nickel cargo to the Asian-Pacific Ports via marine transport. Nickel cargo is transported via railroad to Poland and Germany where it�s distributed to the Western Europe and North American market.

22. 05/03 Socio-Environmental Impact of Transportation Persistent contaminants are carried to the Arctic via long-range transport and accumulate in animals that are used as traditional foods of Indigenous peoples. Releases from marine shipping and long-range transport are a major source of hydrocarbon contamination of the Far East Accidental oil spills and those from ships pose the greatest threat due to petroleum hydrocarbons. The Arctic environment is more vulnerable to spills than warmer environments because oil breaks more slowly under cold, dark conditions and because Arctic plants and animals need a longer time to recover from damage. In addition, remedial measures are difficult due to the extreme conditions of cold, ice cover and winter darkness. The environmental threats to the Arctic associated with transportation of nickel are local and regional, contributing to the disintegration of Indigenous lifestyle through land wastage and animal sickness. The urban dwellers health is impacted as well, especially that nickel workers and of young children.

23. 05/03 www.eramet.fr/us/nickel/images Consumption and Nickel Products First Use: Stainless steel accounts for 2/3 of nickel consumption in the U.S. Nickel is durable as a pure metal and alloys readily with many other metals: it is widely used in 300,000 consumer, industrial, military, transport/aerospace, marine and architectural applications. The public may recognize nickel in coins, as it is used for this purpose in pure or alloy forms by many countries Stainless steel uses are to be found in industry, construction and at home, as pots, pans and kitchen sinks About 65% of nickel is used to manufacture stainless steel and the other 20% is used for highly specialized industrial, aerospace and military applications.

24. 05/03 Distribution to Waste Sites and Waste Processes A joint U.S./Canadian recycling venture indirectly promotes nickel consumption, subsequent waste generation and associated regional impact of indigenous peoples, urban dwellers and the environment. U.S.-based Inmetco is the only facility in North America to provide thermal recovery for nickel-cadmium batteries. It has specific consumer-reach programs, dubbed �mail back, reverse distribution and the large quantity�. However, it is being argued that such programs only compel Western consumers to partake in the increase of nickel market, as the recycling notion provides a clearing of eco-consciousness. Nickel is a common chemical found in Superfund sites, where more often than not, these sites are sold as property lots to marginalized strata of the society: poor and people of color (Bay View H.P.-environmental discrimination)

25. 05/03 Waste II As waste, small airborne nickel particles settle to the ground or are taken out of air by precipitation. Much of the nickel in the environment is found with soil and sediments because nickel attaches to particles that contain iron or manganese which are often present in soil and sediments. Nickel, as a heavy metal, is a component of many industrial and governmental sites. Industrial nickel sources include metal processing operations, coal and oil combustion and sewage sludge. In soils, after first undergoing many chemical transformations, nickel waste often finds its resting place sequestered in compressed aggregates or nodules that are rich in iron and manganese and are stable over a long period of time. If a waste nickel is found in a Superfund site, then, usually, 2 methods of remediation are used: putting a cap on the contaminated land and transferring out contaminated soil; pumping and treating contaminated groundwater.

26. 05/03 References: Biochemistry of Nickel: Robert P. Hausinger Plenum Press, New York and London, 1993 www.atlascopco.com Atlas Materials www.mining-technology.com The Website for the Mining Industry www.insg.org World Nickel Statistics www.thehamptons.com A Company Built on Bones www.nornik.ru Norilsk Nickel Combine Annual Shareholders Report, 2002 Article: R.F. Mining: Nickel and Cobalt. October 24, 2000 www.WIT.org World Information Transfer www.bisnis.doc.gov Overview of Russia�s Nickel Industry www.TRN.org Tundra Network www.RAIPON.org Russian Association of Indigenous People of the North www.concept-link.com/wiley/faq.htm John Wiley�s Environet www.pravda.ru Pravda Newspaper, November 2000. Page 13 U.S. Geological Survey Yearbook. 1999 Page 53.3-5 www.wwf.org WWF Arctic Bulletin No.1, 1997 Norilsk Nickel www.accord.cis.lead.org Persistent Organic Pollutants and Human Health